The Louisville gazette. (Louisville, Ga.) 1799-1800, February 05, 1799, Image 2
then, that a brigadier gfEcr.il and
three held officers fhould have
been ordered to Montgom.-ry
from different counties, uj trv the
major, or that the major fhouid
attend his trial at the (eat of go
vernment, the moft convenient
place, and the middle ground of
Che brigide he belonged to ? If
it be derii led that an officer cf
your militi i cannot he tried out
of his county, it may eafily be
difeovered, that cafes may arife,
where he cannot be tried at all,
however henious bis offence.
1 have barely dilch.vged rny du
ty ; and the oath of Brazel #
Overfired, one of the jury who
prefent'dlhe trial, will prove,
th »t the grand jury were de
ceived in their presentment,
and only thought it a peti
tion for anew tiial. It is cer
tain, that fince the period of the
major’s trial, lels daitnge has
been fuflained from Indim de.
predations, and the executive
with pleafure informs the legifla
tuie, that not a man has been
called into fe vice, of cou'fe not
a (hilling expended, for Indian
defence, notwithftandirg the un
promifing afpefcl of the com
mencement of the year ; a cir
cumflance unparalelled fince
tha firft fcttlcrnent of theftate;
fame robberies have indeed been
committed, and one man, Ben
jamin d ims, of Camden, was
killed in the month of May
laft ; but on demanding the
murderers, the agent declared
them to be Florida Indians, and
9 t
that Tims was killed in their;
purfuit without the bounds of
ibe United Stales.
The averfion which the legif
lature (hewed to running the line,
and the coMelpondcnre between
the agent and myfelf marked
No 6, as to the quantum of
property which might be expell
ed to be received in cafe a depu
tation took place, induced me
to delay appointing commiftion
ers to demand it from the Creek
nation, and to fubmit it for your
confideration. The flatementj
from major Abner Hammond,'
whom 1 fhould have appointed j
as one of them, had I conceived
the flep proper, will convince
your honorable bodies that the
delay has not been improper,
and that an appointment would
only have been produftive of ex
pcnce to the (late, and chagrin
to her citizens, who have fuffer
cd from their depredations—
That appointment, or the pro
priety of an application to con-!
grefs for compeniation, you will
decide on.
The papers marked No. 7,
will fo fully explain thcmfelves
on the fubjeft of the enclofure
of theftate houle yard, that it
would be a trefpafs on your time
to add more than that, although
the power of contrafl was not
peifeft, and a brick wall would
have been preferable, as being
more durable; yet, as the work
as it is, adds relpedlability to the
ftate building, an equitable price
flionM hr allowed the Workm in ;
: the furn contraftcd for appeared
to me to be extravagant, but
; you are better judges tfnn my
-1 fdf. and mjy not deem it un
reafonahle.
In the month of May, the
ftatc convention met, and form
ed the conftitution under which
'you bold your feats. No doubt,
• it has its imperfe&ions ; for it is
! not the lot of human wildom
| in any of its attempts, to be free
[from them—but I have with
plcafuie heard of its being ap
plauded in other dates, and, I
venture to exprefs mv (pinion,
that it is as little exceptionable
as m©ft in the Union. It could
not be cxpe6led that this, or that
detached part of the ftate fhould
reap all the benefits arifing from
it; and to give a little, to gain
a little, is the fate of human
fociety. Such as it is, however,
the people, our fovereign, have
framed it:* and it is our duty,
as public feivants, to obey it.
We have no right to claim a part
and deny a part —To 'fupport
this claufe and protfft againft
another claufe ; for ahhough, it
is true, that various conlltuc
tions may be placed on a fingle
fe&ion, as to the meaning or
operation of that fedbon, until
explained and decided on by
law, yet the great whole mufl
be proteftcdandimplicitly obey- 1
cd, until altered by confti u
tional means, both by the Jegif
lative branches under the oaths
their members take, and every
' otherdepartmentofgovernment j
To protefl and declare againft 1
being bound by certain, parts of
the conftitution, is, in my opin
ion mutiny, to fay no worfe,
againft the majefty ot the peo
ple ; and I hope, however un
btfhionable, that the govern
ment of Georgia is not yet arri
ved to that point of difrefpetl
for that fountain of power, as
to CQnfider the conftitution
willed by them as a cobweb, and
the charter of their rights as a
baubl.e, to be broken through
i or torn in pieces as felf-interell
or circumftances may (uit. It
is our duty, as public fervants,
to preferve and defend it, as the
rock of the people’s' happinefs,
and the creed of their political
falvation.
I am fotry on this head to lay be
fore you a tranlaftion, which baa made
much noife throughout the ftate, and
may require fume of your attention.
Two members cf the late coofcotioo
declined frgning the conftitution, for
rtafons they declared to be contained in
a paper, which the conventu .1 refuted
to notice, or to have entered on their
journal. Some time after the conftitu
tion took effeft, a publication was in
ferted in the Augulia Snr.hcrn Ccnii
nel, by two officers of high grade io
! ycur mlitia, purporting to be the pa
per prtfented to the convention ; and
j which in public print, appeared to be a
proteft againft the 23d and 24th feAi
ons of the firft article of the conftitu
tion, under the fjgnaturcs of brigadiers
general James Gaoa and Th< raag Glaf
cock. On lornc obfervations made
j thereon j this pioteft againft the rights
’ of the citizens of Georgia, was agaio
in the public prints• avowed, aod offici
al:? auihcQtiuicd by jofeph fiuuhia
; L a no'ff pwl.Kc asiiog unJer the i
I Liviniy of the Itatc. #
1 The executive taking m'o confHen <
: i1„„,,1,e Hanger ol p,. .I.C ofli.er. be'ng
• »-rml w.th impunity* to tramp c the
. ifoiidi'ution under tli-it fee’, and a To
Vonfiiering that if general# of the Hate
p'otcll againtl it, no infer or ofil
• . C | , r private m luU man. coU;d be ex
’ oedted to fupport or defend it; ana
I hat if 0"C let of perfons could proteti
! again ll tbs, another fc r cou'd
part or the contl tution and in
' J a fhorc time to vrßigc of conftituti :
1 jonal authori y would remain ; determined
l to arrdl thole officer! and to bring them
1 to tr al by a court martial; but bn
determfna ion, in th s respect, w..s l fn
peded by the fitutonof the ftate ex
pofed to invafion, and when every ptef
i pcfk led u» to expefl it. When the
! Union wafi preparing f r war, to have
| drawn the icmanmg brigadiers and
. fourteen field officers to a point for
their tr al would hive been a dangerous
and an imprudent fttp ; or, yon /hould
not hnv: been troubled w th this detail
Ncctffiry therefore induced a fuc miflion
of their conduct to the Irgiflaturc ; and
it lays with you to dettrmir c if your
militia officer! will not piottd the con
ftitut on, nor defend the pubi c property
of the itate, what fafety there is for the
government under whole au hori y they
hold iheir comm ffinnp. But before 1
quit this ful jed, I have *o inform you
of the fufpei lion of tha diring notary
public, who although he held his office
only during good behaviour, undertook
to exncife tire authority the ftite had
| veiled him with, to ddlroy the very
cffencc of the authority which gave it
As the law pointed out no mode of
trial of the good behav our of fuel: an
ufficer, and be was not known as a nota
ry hy the conftitution, I reftmd the
• fubj-d to the law department. The an
fwcrsof folicitors general Van Allen
and Caldwell, to certain executive que
riea to be found in the paprs on ths
bead, marked No. 8, were the llrong
grounds on which I fufpended bm,and
1 my refcarches fiuce have convinced me
i that their opinion and my hifpenfion was
! proper A fimple queftion decidei
agaii.ll him. Was it good behaviour in
Mr Hutch’nfon to fix his notarial Cal |
and fignature to a protest against the
constitu:ion of his country ? if a citizen !
does not accord in political ft Aliment,
with the constitution, let him remove
from its jurifdi&ion, or watt with patt
ence for a constitutional change; not
accept offices under the government to
employ them against the constituted au
thoriiy. The 14th fedion of the 4th I
article of the constitution, declaring that
all civil officers lhall continue in the ex
ereife of the duties of their feveral office!
for the period for which they were ap
pointed, and the latter part of the faid
fedion declaring, “ ilat all laws now in
force, lha 1 continue to operate fo far 88
they arc compatible with the conetituti
on until repealed/’ and the ad of the
23d day of December 1789, entitled,
“ an ad for regulating the appoint
meat of justices of the peace in the feve
ral counties of this state, and for cm
powering the governor to fill up a l va
cancics that may happen in office during
1 the recefs of the general tffcrably ; ,f
not being incompatible as refpeds this
officer, be being appointed under a for
mcr authority ; and the 3d fedion of
the laid ad cxprcfsly declaring “ that
it lhall and may be lawful for the
! governor tor tbe time being, when an j
office lhall become vacant by death, tc
fignation or removal from office by the
governor, or otherways, during the re
eels of the general affemb'y to appoint
feme fit and proper perfon to Tuch
office there can be little doubt, exdu
five of the strong grounds the law
department has taken under the refeind
ingad, of the power of the executive
to remove Mr. Hutchiulon cither as a
notary public, or justice of the peace,
and of filling the vacancies.
And here I have to remark that heat,
col. Watkins, of the Richmond county
regiment, has alfo made declarations in
the pubhc ptiaia, that he will never
cor.fi-!er hirtfclf bound by certain parti
of the cooftitutioo. This, as a public
officer, is going to great lengths indeed.
VV.ll nrfer feel hlmf If boun I by certain
part* of the conft tu;ion, and thofe parti
not fperified ! What dependence can be
placed on that officer in fupporing the
conlL'ution, when he declares he never
will be bound by it ■ I could bare tried
the lieutenant colonel, but as I had
fubtnifted the conduA of h's fuperior
officers to you, I did not deem it a »e
ceffary attention, to deal partially wi.h
him ; an! his cafe with the other!, is
i left io r y. ur dec Tion.
On this before I proceed
further, 1 beg leave to hint the propri
e y of ohlig ng every mil’t’a officer of
Georgia to take an oath, to be pre
f.ribed by law, to fupport the conftha
lion of the s'atc. Thofe officer! will
then judge how far their declarations and
protefts, will perm’t their ralaining ihc r
commifii »ns. But you, gentlemen, who
have fworn to fupport the cot*
cannot view ftich glaring condud in
your ppblic fervants, without the roost
lively indignation.
Gentlemen of the Senate and Houfe of R:*
fre/entativetf
1 have the utmeft Ltisft&ion in in
forming you, that, noiwnhftaoding th«
many arempts through,the channel of
the public pr ots, to deftroy the confi
dence of the gcneial government in the
(fate adm niflratii n, that harmony baa
been cultivated between the principal
cleparments of the Union and the State
Ectcutivc. In the month of June Uft,
th? ports of this ftate, as well as thofe
of S. Carolina, were vifited by a number
of v ffeiacrouded wiih St, Domingo ne*
groes, or perlona of colour fhipped for
thofe ftatta by the Brilifh on their eva
cuation of Pori-au Prince, which occa
fiooed a ferious alarm all along the fea
coalls of both (fates, and which alarm
was very much incrcafed, when the fai
lure of the negociations between the Ge
nera! Government wi b France was
known. My corrcfp mdtnce wth the
heads of the departments of the Fede»
ral government, and the governor of
South-Carolina, on thofe air<l other to
pics marked No. 9 will rot only decid
edly prove my determ oation to fupport
! the General Government, with the whole
force of th s ftate in my power, but that
! fcvcral fteps taken by the Sta’e Execo*
1 tive, have met the approbation of the
Executive Department of the Union.
Amctica being unconnected by natu
ral ties with any foreign nation, and
; bit-fled within hcrfclf with every produce
tion, wtiich can adminiftcr to cither our
j neceffary comforts or our cafe, I con
ceive it the unbouoden duty of every
citizen toproteft, with bis life and for
tune, the independence of his happy and
detached country, from the hoftile at
tacks of every open or infinuating invad
er, whether of the monarchical cl-fa of
Britain, or the democratical cnlhuliafts
of France, Succefa might crown our
partiality for either for a moment, but
the biliertft rcroorfe might fuccced the
event—Entangled in European politics,
although America with the fword, like
China with her manners, might ultimate
ly pievall a* a nation, it might be too
late, to prevent a Tartar from eftabhlh'
ing a throne—-Lei us fteer clear of
Scylla, whilft wc avoid Charybdis, znd
picierve our partiality for our own
government —If aa a peop ? e, and a ftate,
we have complaint!, let us hope that the
Union will confidcr and redrcls them—
If there be encroachments on our right*,
let us patiently wait for conftitutiooal
mesas of removing them,—l will not,
fellow citizens, play the hypocrite, and
tell you they do not cxift, for they do
exift, and Georgia feels them more
fibly than any other ftate.
I’hc iotcrcourfe law, between the
Uaitcd States and the Indian tribes,
is a grievance in its operation, rooft fe
vcrcly felt by our frontier citizens .1
perlona of honefty and rcfpe&abdiiyt
barely for being id a car.oe or making
filh traps on the Oconee river, h avf
been confined in military dungeons, or
chained to flumps expofed to the j
iaclcaacocy of ihs fcfctcn feafoua*